Leaving the nest and going into a post-secondary education is a big step to take.

However, this can lead to an expensive next few years of your life. In recent years the cost of a college education has increased 28% from the 2008-2009 school year to present, according to the National Center of Education statistics. 

“There’s actually scholarships every year that go unused, like people don’t even apply for them because they’re not aware or don’t know how to access them.” Counselor Amy Chapelle said. “So there’s definitely money out there that’s like waiting to be used.”

With the cost of post-secondary education being so high, it has become vital for high school seniors to apply for scholarships to assist with the cost. There are many ways for people to receive free money. With opportunities like merit-based awards, academic awards, and even government grants, the possibilities are endless. 

“I would say the first step would probably be to check Schoology just because there are some late scholarships that have not had deadlines yet” Chapelle said. “Then I would say just check those same sources, but think out of the box a little bit, maybe to just connections that you have in the community or through work, whether it’s your parents or some other connection you might have”

For most UCS students many scholarship opportunities can be found in schoology. You can access the folder by going up top to the groups drop down bar and then hit “Class of 2023.” There you will find an abundance of college information and scholarship applications that are regularly updated by the counselors. 

 “The ones on Schoology are great just because the scholarship or the applicant pool is so small, the other thing is that a lot of those scholarships seem small, maybe they’re 500 to 1,000 dollar scholarships, but it all adds up.” Chapelle said. “That would potentially cover your books for a semester or any other yearly costs that go with the price tag of college.”

To search for more scholarship opportunities access the UCS Naviance app on the class link home page. Then go to the top of the screen where it says “colleges” then tap “national scholarship search.” Once you fill out the survey and place all of your information into the boxes, the computer will automatically find scholarships that fit your extracurricular and academic achievements. 

For some, grants and scholarships are a necessity to help assist the pricey cost of a college education. With the assistance of scholarship money the amount of student debt can be lightened and students can begin making smart financial decisions for their future. 

 “I think scholarships are important because college is expensive, and you need scholarships especially because nobody wants a lot of loans,” Senior Roz Mikhel said. “Because they tend to become difficult to manage and who doesn’t want free money?”